Updated June 2026 · ESAexpert.co.uk

WCA Activity 6: Making Self Understood Through Speaking, Writing, Typing or Other Means

Activity 6 of the Work Capability Assessment has the full title "making self understood through speaking, writing, typing, or other means." In plain terms it asks whether you can get a message across to other people - by any reasonable method - well enough to function. It is one of the 17 activities the WCA uses to decide whether you have Limited Capability for Work, and it is classed as a physical activity that focuses on conditions physically affecting how you express yourself, so points here add to anything you score on the mental and cognitive activities.

You score points by showing that you cannot reliably convey a simple message, such as warning someone of a hazard, to people who do not already know you. The activity allows for every method of communication - speech, writing, typing, sign language, communication aids - so you only score if you struggle by all of your available means. The test centres on being understood by strangers, because that reflects the reality of a workplace.

The Activity 6 descriptors and exact point values

These are the descriptors exactly as written in Schedule 2 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013. The same descriptors apply to Universal Credit through the equivalent rules. Only the single highest-scoring descriptor that applies to you counts.

Descriptor	Points
(a) Cannot convey a simple message, such as the presence of a hazard	15
(b) Has significant difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers	15
(c) Has some difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers	6
(d) None of the above applies	0

In plain English:

15 points if you cannot convey a simple message at all, by any means - the example given is being unable to communicate the presence of a hazard. This is the most severe descriptor.
15 points if you have significant difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers. You can communicate to some degree, but people who do not know you struggle considerably to understand you.
6 points if you have some difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers. The difficulty is real but less severe than "significant."

Key point: the difference between "significant difficulty" (15 points) and "some difficulty" (6 points) is one of degree, and it is where many decisions turn. The benchmark is strangers, not family. People close to you learn to understand impaired speech, so describe how you fare with people who have never met you - which is what work involves.

How a real difficulty maps to a descriptor and points

Points only make sense when you see how an everyday problem turns into a specific descriptor. Here is a composite example built from the kind of facts an assessor weighs. The figures are not invented - they are the descriptor points written into Schedule 2.

Imagine someone who had a stroke that left them with dysarthria, so their speech is slurred and slow, and mild expressive aphasia, so words sometimes will not come. Their partner understands them easily. New people often ask them to repeat themselves, and in a shop or on the phone they are frequently misunderstood.

Descriptor (b) - significant difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers: if strangers regularly cannot follow them without considerable effort and repetition, this fits at 15 points, which alone meets the threshold for Limited Capability for Work.
Descriptor (c) - some difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers: if the difficulty were milder, with strangers usually understanding after a little patience, the better fit would be 6 points.

The honest line between (b) and (c) is the whole battle for this activity. Be specific: how often do strangers fail to understand you, how much repetition is needed, and can you make yourself understood by writing or an aid quickly enough to count? Remember the assessment also allows other means, so if speech fails but you can type a clear message in reasonable time, that is taken into account.

The reliability test applied to communication

The single most important idea in the whole assessment is that you must be able to do an activity reliably, repeatedly, safely, in a reasonable time, and for the majority of the time. An assessor is not asking whether you could get one sentence out on a good day. They are asking whether you could communicate as a working day requires.

Reliably and repeatedly. If you can manage one short message but tire, lose words, or become harder to understand as you go on, you cannot communicate repeatedly through a day.
Safely. The descriptors single out conveying "the presence of a hazard." If you could not quickly warn a colleague of danger, that is a safety failure with real consequences in a workplace.
In a reasonable time. If getting a message across takes you far longer than it should - long pauses, repetition, writing things down - that delay is itself a way of meeting a descriptor.
The majority of the time. This is the "more than half the days" rule. Many neurological conditions fluctuate, and fatigue makes speech worse. If your harder days outnumber your easier ones, the law says you should be assessed on the harder days.

When you write your form, attach this test to each difficulty. Do not just say "my speech is affected." Say "strangers frequently cannot understand me, I have to repeat myself or write things down, and it gets worse the more tired I am, so I cannot communicate reliably or in a reasonable time."

Which conditions commonly score on Activity 6

This activity focuses on conditions that physically affect how you express yourself. Common ones include:

Stroke, causing dysarthria (slurred speech) or aphasia (loss of words) - see ESA for stroke.
Motor neurone disease and Parkinson's, which progressively affect the muscles used for speech.
Multiple sclerosis, which can cause slurred or scanning speech and fatigue-related decline - see ESA for MS.
Cerebral palsy and other conditions present from early life that affect speech production.
Laryngectomy and voice loss, severe stammer, and head and neck conditions affecting the voice.
Severe hearing impairment from birth, which can affect spoken language alongside the related activity on understanding communication. See ESA for hearing loss and our pages on autism and learning disabilities where communication overlaps with other activities.

There is no automatic award for any diagnosis. What scores points is the functional effect of your condition, described against the descriptors, not the name of the condition.

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Evidence to gather for Activity 6

Communication difficulty is hard to convey in writing and even harder over the phone, so good evidence carries weight. Build it in layers:

Speech and language therapy reports. An SLT assessment is the strongest single document for this activity, describing exactly how your speech or expressive language is affected and how well strangers understand you.
Specialist letters. A neurologist, ENT consultant or rehabilitation specialist can confirm the diagnosis and the impact on communication.
GP records. Ask for a printout of your consultation history and medication list, which often log speech changes over time.
Audiology results, where hearing impairment affects spoken language.
A statement from someone who knows you. A partner, carer or support worker can describe how often strangers fail to understand you and how much repetition you need.
Your own examples. Misunderstood in shops, cannot use the telephone, have to write things down, gave up answering the door. These map directly onto the "difficulty conveying a message to strangers" descriptors.

Our ESA evidence checklist walks through what to send and how. Send copies, never originals, and keep a list of everything you submit.

Common mistakes on Activity 6

Comparing yourself to family. The test is about strangers. People who know you adapt, so describing how well your partner understands you understates the real difficulty.
Forgetting other methods. The activity allows writing and typing. If you can write a clear note quickly, say why that still is not enough, or you may be scored as able to communicate by that means.
Underselling fatigue. Many people communicate best at the start of an assessment and worse as they tire. Explain how your communication degrades.
Treating Activity 6 in isolation. Communication conditions often affect several activities at once, especially the related understanding-communication activity. Score them all.

How Activity 6 combines towards the 15-point threshold

You need 15 points in total to be treated as having Limited Capability for Work. Physical and mental points are added together across all 17 activities. Activity 6 frequently appears alongside related activities:

Activity 7 - Understanding communication, since conditions like stroke or hearing impairment affect both expressing and receiving messages.
Mental and cognitive activities, such as coping with social engagement, where a condition has both physical and psychological effects.

The two highest descriptors on Activity 6 give 15 points, which alone meets the threshold. But if you score the lower 6-point descriptor, those points combine with others - for example 6 points here plus 9 points on understanding communication reaches 15. This is why describing every affected activity matters: refusals often happen because someone stopped at one activity. Read how many points you need for ESA for the full arithmetic.

Activity 6 and the Support Group

Activity 6 is not by itself one of the Schedule 3 descriptors that directly place you in the Support Group (LCWRA on Universal Credit). However, the substantial-risk rule can still apply if being found capable of work-related activity would put your physical or mental health at serious risk. Severe communication impairment combined with other conditions may reach the Support Group through the overall picture rather than this single activity. Our guide to qualifying for the Support Group explains the routes.

The consultation, the decision and challenging it

Most assessments are now carried out by telephone or as a paper-based review of your form and evidence, although a face-to-face appointment is still possible. If communication is one of your difficulties, a telephone assessment can be especially hard - the very thing being assessed is the thing you have to do to take part. You can ask for an alternative format, such as a face-to-face or paper-based assessment, and you can have someone with you to help. Make sure your written account and supporting evidence are very clear, because they may carry the claim.

After the assessment the DWP sends a decision letter. If you are refused, or scored on the 6-point descriptor when you believe you meet a 15-point one, you can challenge it. Read the assessment report - you can ask the DWP for a copy - and check it against what you actually said. The challenge runs in two stages. First, Mandatory Reconsideration: you ask the DWP to look again, normally within one month, setting out which descriptor you meet and why, with fresh evidence such as a speech and language therapy report. If that does not fix it, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, an independent panel that includes a doctor. A tribunal can see and hear your difficulty for itself, which is often decisive for a communication activity.

WCA reform: what is changing

The Work Capability Assessment is under reform, with changes announced from 2025 onwards as the government moves towards assessing health-related support differently within Universal Credit. The descriptors and point values described here are the rules that apply now. If you have an assessment or a decision in progress, the current rules are what your claim is judged against. Keep an eye on GOV.UK for the latest, and see our overview of ESA and WCA changes.

Official sources

This guide reflects the official Work Capability Assessment rules. For the source material, see:

Guidance only, not legal advice. Rules can change - always check GOV.UK for the latest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is WCA Activity 6?

Activity 6 is making yourself understood through speaking, writing, typing or other means. It is one of the 17 Work Capability Assessment activities. It measures whether you can convey a simple message, such as warning someone of a hazard, by any method. It is classed as a physical activity and focuses on conditions that physically affect communication, so points here add to your mental and cognitive points towards the 15 needed for Limited Capability for Work.

How many points can you score on WCA Activity 6?

You can score 15 or 6 points. You score 15 if you cannot convey a simple message such as the presence of a hazard, or if you have significant difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers. You score 6 if you have some difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers. Only the single highest-scoring descriptor that applies to you counts towards your total.

Does Activity 6 cover all communication methods?

Yes. The activity is about getting a message across by any reasonable means: speaking, writing, typing, sign language or a communication aid. You only score if you cannot make yourself understood by any of these methods. If speech is impossible but you can write a clear note, you would not meet the descriptor, so the assessment looks at your best available method of communication.

What conditions commonly score on Activity 6?

Activity 6 focuses on conditions that physically affect expressive communication, such as stroke causing aphasia or dysarthria, laryngectomy or other loss of voice, severe stammer, cerebral palsy affecting speech, motor neurone disease, Parkinson's, and severe hearing impairment from birth that affects spoken language. Difficulty being understood by strangers is the key test.

How does Activity 6 combine with other activities?

Physical and mental points are added together across all 17 activities. Activity 6 often appears alongside Activity 7, understanding communication, since many conditions affect both expressing and receiving messages. Points from several activities combine to reach 15. A score on Activity 6 plus points from other affected activities can reach the threshold even when no single activity gives 15 on its own.

What evidence helps an Activity 6 claim?

Useful evidence includes letters from your GP, speech and language therapist, neurologist or ENT specialist, a speech and language therapy assessment, audiology results where relevant, and your medication list. A statement from someone who regularly tries to communicate with you, describing how strangers struggle to understand you, is particularly valuable for this activity.

Can Activity 6 put me in the Support Group?

Activity 6 is not by itself one of the Schedule 3 descriptors that directly place you in the Support Group, but the substantial-risk rule can still apply if work would put your health at serious risk, and severe communication problems combined with other conditions may reach the Support Group through the overall picture. Describe the full impact of your condition, not this activity alone.

Is the WCA for Activity 6 done in person?

The Work Capability Assessment is now most often by telephone or as a paper-based review of your form and evidence, though a face-to-face appointment is still possible. If communication is one of your difficulties, a telephone assessment can be especially hard, so you can ask for an alternative format and should make sure your written account and supporting evidence are very clear.

How much could your ESA be worth?

The amount depends on whether you reach the 15-point threshold for Limited Capability for Work, and whether you qualify for the Support Group (LCWRA), paid at £145.90 a week, rather than the Work-Related Activity Group at £95.55 a week. Try our free WCA points calculator to estimate your score, or read what ESA is and how much it pays.